Leave the Fast Driving to Indy Cars and Click it or Ticket as Enforcement Steps Up

A couple of good rules to follow in the week ahead as we prepare for the long Memorial Day Holiday weekend. First, leave the fast driving and tricky lane maneuvers to the Indy racers at that big 500 mile race. Second, buckle your seatbelt or face a hefty fine. Especially in light of the stepped up enforcement period we’ve all come to know as Click it or Ticket.

Law enforcement officers all across the Great Lakes State will be paying special attention in their search for unbuckled motorists cruising the highways and byways.

Their message is simple: “Buckle Up for the Ones Who Will Miss You.”

The Click it or Ticket campaign begins today.

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To stress the importance of buckling up, the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) recently launched a new safety campaign that includes television and radio ads, billboards, social media posts, and banners displayed at more than 600 police and public safety offices across Michigan. The effort is part of the annual Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement crackdown that runs today through June 2nd.

Michael Prince is Director of the Office of Highway Safety Planning. He says, “Three out of four people ejected from a vehicle in a crash will die,” and adds, “Wearing a seat belt is the simplest thing you can do to reduce injuries and save lives. Buckle up for the ones who will miss you – every trip, every time.”

As the Memorial Day holiday approaches, officers from police departments, sheriff’s offices and the Michigan State Police will be conducting seat belt enforcement across the state during the two-week period.

Two new Click It or Ticket ads that are part of the safety campaign by the OHSP remind motorists why it’s important to buckle up. They can be found by clicking the links below:

Last Memorial Day, 19 people died in traffic crashes over the holiday period, almost double the number from a year earlier in 2017. Seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash. Buckling up can reduce the risk of serious injury or death in a crash by 45-percent.

In Michigan, the seat belt usage rate stands at 93.4-percent. The national seat belt use rate in 2018 was 89.6-percent.

Michigan law requires drivers, front seat passengers and passengers 15 and younger in any seating position to be buckled up. The fine and associated costs for not wearing a seat belt is $65. Children must be in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4’9” tall, and children under 4 years old must be in the back seat.

The Office of Highway Safety Planning coordinates the Click It or Ticket effort which is supported by federal traffic safety funds.